The Hindu : New Delhi News : Best of European films on offer

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 25, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Best of European films on offer

Mandira Nayar

Still from a film to be shown during the festival.

NEW DELHI: There are no promises of "happy ending" in this version of reel. But with 19 good reasons to still get drawn to their magic, the European Union is bringing to the country a taste of a changing world.

From issues of identity to more complex problems of life, the 11th European Union Film Festival is a way to bridge the huge gap of distance through the power of a darkened hall and flickering images.

"There is a common thread in these films which constitute the European identity. There is national identity like German, Turkish or Greek, but there is also a European identity like there is in India with several components," said Minister Counsellor, Political Affair and Coordination, Charge d'Affaires, Alexander Spachis at a press conference here on Friday.

Representing a new breed of expression in Europe, several of these movies have been helped by Media, a programme under the European Union, which is responsible for helping small filmmakers to express themselves. With mostly award-winning films participating in the festival, it is really about the best that Europe has to offer. The festival will travel round the country and will be kicked off in Delhi with "My Russia", an Austrian film that was awarded the Max Ophuls Prize for Best Film in 2002 on March 3. The movies will be shown free of cost at Siri Fort Auditorium II.

"The movie deals with a clash of cultures. It is about a young man marrying a Russian woman. We are familiar with Indian movies. There are some set elements like the dance sequences, relationships and happy modes. But we are soul searchers and European movies are a lot more complicated and a little more sober,'' said the Ambassador of Austria, Jutta Stefan-Bastl representing the Presidency of the European Union. Competing for space with the big films nominated for the most famous movie award, the Oscars, the festival might not have a host of familiar faces, but can match up certainly in terms of content.

The festival will also provide a chance to watch films from countries that usually never get a huge chunk of screen space in most mainstream festivals. Some of the movies to be screened at the festival are "Haven" from Italy, "Gille's Wife" from Luxembourg, "Guarded Secrets" from Hungary, "Mystics" from Ireland, "Squint your eyes" from Poland, "Kebab Connection" from Germany, "Kolja" from Czech Republic and "Dog Nail Clipper" from Finland.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail